Maurice Pokarney

Published: Tuesday, April 9, 2013 8:47 a.m. CST

Mr. Maurice “Morrie” Pokarney, 81, passed away peacefully at his residence, with his family by his side, at 7:25 a.m. Monday, April 8, 2013.

Cremation rites will be accorded. A Memorial Service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, April 12, at the Dwight United Methodist Church, with Pastor Lance Leeds officiating. The family will receive friends at a luncheon prepared at the church after the service.

Inurnment will follow at Pleasant Ridge Cemetery in Wing, Ill..

Morrie was born to Michael and Myrtle Vogelsinger Pokarney on May 8, 1931, in Wing. He married Dolores Kaisner on March 7, 1954, at McDowell Methodist Church in McDowell, Ill.

He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Dolores; four sons, Dale (Marsha) Pokarney of El Paso, Ill., and Mark, Keith (Mary), and Brian Pokarney, all of Dwight, Ill.; a sister; Mary Rice of Kalamazoo, Mich., a brother, Charles Harry Pokarney of Dwight; eight grandchildren, Coral Johnson, Jennifer Tjelle, Amanda Patten, Krissy Mondelli, Erik Pokarney, Kim Pokarney, Kate Brickman and Michael Pokarney; and 12 great-grandchildren. He is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, three brothers, and one sister.

Morrie graduated from Forrest High School and then from Illinois State University with an agricultural degree in 1973. He was in the National Guard and the United States Army.

He worked for six years as office manager for the United States Department of Agriculture and retired after 33 years of farming with his brother, Harry, and also with Morrie’s son, Keith, for the Peter Scully trust. He served on the Dwight School Board and several church committees for the Dwight United Methodist Church.

He loved gardening, fishing, and being with his family. He was an avid, lifelong St. Louis Cardinals baseball fan, and enjoyed reading car magazines and seed catalogs.

The Pokarney Family would like to send a special thank you to the staff of OSF Hospice for their kindness and compassion. Thank you!

Memorials may be made to the Dwight United Methiodist Church or Prairie Creek Library, Dwight, Ill.

Arrangements have been entrusted to the Hager Memorial Home, 201 W. Mazon Ave., Dwight. For additional information, call the funeral home at (815) 584-2666 or log onto www.hagermemorial.com.